Ronaldo’s real sickener for City

Real Madrid 3 Man City 2

Roberto Mancini’s men may have been on the back foot for much of the night but when goals from Edin Dzeko and Kolarov put them 1-0 and 2-1 ahead their star-struck fans could almost believe their name was on the trophy this year.

But wonderful goals from Marcelo, Benzema and finally, in the very last minute, that man Ronaldo, completed an incredible turnaround for Real and handed a very harsh lesson indeed to a side who have ambitions to be European champions.

Both managers were in agreement ahead of this match that City will win the Champions League one day given the incredible investment Sheikh Mansour has made in the club; but the window may prove to be narrower than either Mourinho or Mancini expect.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart refused to take any positives from the result, saying: “It’s not on — you can’t go 2-1 up with five minutes to go and not win the game. We can only blame ourselves, we can’t go 2-1 up and lose. We are not a team that should come here and pat ourselves on the back for doing well, we’re a team that should get results.”

That attitude, at least, should serve City well. And Real Madrid, who have as much claim as Manchester United or Barcelona to be named as the biggest club in the world, know how difficult the Champions League is to win — they haven’t lifted it in 10 long years. So you can bet that this result will be a huge boost for Mourinho’s men..

After suffering three defeats already in the defence of their La Liga crown this season — and having faced intense criticism as a result — Real were always likely to be in determined mood for this fixture; and only Hart kept Mancini’s side in contention at first, making four superb saves, including two from the rampant Ronaldo, in the opening 20 minutes.

Mancini had made some strange decisions in his team selection; mysteriously leaving out Mario Balotelli altogether, opting to give Matija Nastasic his debut at centre-half and choosing Javi Garcia in midfield alongside Gareth Barry. Perhaps he had one eye on the future — but was this really the right place to bed in new partnerships in a match in which City needed to make a statement of their intent and ambition?

The loss of Samir Nasri with a muscle injury after 36 minutes hampered City further, although perhaps the arrival of the more defensively muscular Kolarov could be seen as a positive, given the dominance of the home team. Very slowly and very surely, City started to find their feet. Having survived another burst of pressure from Real at the start of the second half, Mancini’s men began to use the power of Yaya Toure on the break and stunned their hosts with a breakaway goal after 69 minutes.

Toure, as he had done several times before, burst through the middle to set up substitute Edin Dzeko, who finished calmly and assuredly.

It could have been 2-0 had Casillas not done well to keep out a fierce Kolarov cross-shot; but perhaps it was too much to expect the visitors to hold on in a frenetic atmosphere as Real eventually found an equaliser.

It was the game’s most impressive player, Marcelo, who got it — dropping his shoulder before curling home a stunning and curling shot from 18 yards with his ‘weaker’ right foot.

Nobody at that stage could have predicted City would consider anything other than frantic defending for the final 20 minutes; but remarkably they regained the lead with a curling free-kick from Kolarov that took a slight nick off Xabi Alonso and ended up in the far corner of Iker Casillas’s goal.

Back came Real, however — equalising almost immediately with a hugely impressive turn and finish from Benzema before Ronaldo finished the job, first forcing Hart into a flying save and then curling home a late winner in dramatic fashion. Hart may feel he should have done better.

Mourinho slid to his knees in celebration and Ronaldo, who only a week ago said he was “sad” at Real, did likewise before ending up flat out on his back with a smile that suggested otherwise. It really was a remarkable match, a thrilling finale and a wake-up call too for City who are starting to realise just how tough it will be to match holders Chelsea. This is the most difficult trophy of all to win, no matter how much money you have and how well you play.

Subs for Real Madrid: Ozil for Essien 65, Modric for Khedira 73, Benzema for Higuain 73.

Subs for Man City: Kolarov for Nasri 36, Dzeko for Silva 63, Zabaleta for Maicon 74.